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RESEARCH REPORT

Pulse of Change: September 2024

The Accenture Pulse of Change is a quarterly C-suite survey probing into how business, talent and technology trends are shaping and driving change. The latest survey was fielded in May 2024.

5-MINUTE READ

July 21, 2024

Key findings

Revenue growth expectations in 2024

~90%

Of C-suite leaders expect revenue growth

44%

expect strong growth – a 6-point increase since March

More and more c-suite leaders now say they expect to see revenue growth expectations in 2024

  • The majority are optimistic. 91% expect to see revenue growth, up from 85% in March

  • 44% of executives are now expecting “strong growth” for 2024—a 6-point increase over earlier projections

  • Nearly 90% expect growth in North America; Just 43% expect growth from their China markets – but more optimistic vs. March (33%)

  • The percentage expecting faster revenue growth fell slightly since March (66% vs 77%)

Gen AI ROI

49%

of C-suite leaders say their Gen AI investments are “outperforming” others

65%

view Gen AI as more beneficial to revenue growth

35%

now see more cost reduction benefit

What Gen AI Hype? C-suite leaders see returns on their investment

  • Nearly all say their Gen AI investments are performing “equally well” or “outperforming others” – 44% and 49% respectively

  • Larger companies = larger rewards: Organizations above $10 billion in revenue are more likely to see their Gen AI investment outperform their other investments

  • The majority still view Gen AI as more beneficial to revenue growth (65% vs 76% six months ago)

  • However, the percentage of those who see more cost reduction benefit is on the rise (35% vs 24% six months ago)

Gen AI ROI spotlight: impact on customer strategy

Nearly 100% of C-suite leaders say Gen AI has influenced how their businesses acquire and retain customers

  • In fact, nearly 45% believe—to the fullest extent—that their investments in tech are improving customer relationships

  • More than half (54%) claim Gen AI has impacted their customer strategy by automating customer service tasks using chatbots that provide personalized interactions in real-time

  • Looking ahead, a similar percent (51%), view Gen AI as helping them better measure customer satisfaction and gathering feedback

Top drivers of tech investments

~50%

Of C-suite leaders cite employee retention and addressing skills shortages

90%

however, say their organizations need significant adjustments or a total transformation of their reskilling strategy

The top driver of investments in tech like Gen AI? Talent

  • Employee retention and addressing skills shortages are cited by nearly half of C-suite leaders as the top drivers of their tech investments

  • Yet nearly 90% say their organizations need “significant adjustments” or a “total transformation” of their reskilling strategy given the emergence of Gen AI. The percentage of those saying a “total transformation” is needed increased to 25% (up from 15% in March)

  • Additionally, only 41% believe their board of directors has the level of proficiency needed to make tech-related decisions that affect their company’s future

Top concerns for the remainder of 2024

#1

keeping up with advancements in tech & innovation

#2

adapting to shifts in consumer values/purchasing behavior

#3

increased risks from cyberattacks/data breaches

C-suite’s top concerns for the rest of the year? Not economic uncertainty…

  • For the third quarter, C-suite leaders rank keeping up with advancements in tech & innovation as their No.1 concern (52%)

  • When implementing Gen AI, the lack of a strong cloud infrastructure is the top challenge organizations face. Determining the business value and ROI is the lowest (22%)

  • No. 2 and No. 3 concerns? Adapting to shifts in consumer values/purchasing behavior (49%) and increased risks from cyberattacks/data breaches (47%). Economic uncertainty ranks last

Deeper dive on cybersecurity

When it comes to cybersecurity, C-suite leaders grapple with their organization’s readiness to defend itself from and with Gen AI

  • Nearly all believe they have at least some of the right talent and skills in place to secure their Gen AI tools

  • Yet just 45% express “complete confidence” in their organization’s ability to defend against Gen AI-driven cyberattacks in the next 12 months

  • Only 43% completely consider Gen AI a core technology that can enhance their organization's security defense capabilities. 1 in 4 believe a total transformation is needed

Tech impact look ahead

Gen AI Aside, C-suite Leaders Weigh in on the Emerging Tech They Anticipate Will Have the Most Significant Impact on Their Industry Over the Next Year

  • The three categories most mentioned:
    • Nearly 30% of C-suite leaders say IoT, Edge Computing and 5G Networks
    • More than 20% say AI, Machine Learning and Big Data
    • Blockchain and Cybersecurity round out the top three categories with 15%

  • Only 6% of C-suite leaders mentioned Quantum

Methodology

Accenture Pulse of Change probes C-suite leaders on the issues and technology that are driving change, how leaders are responding and their perspectives on the future. For the latest edition, Accenture Research conducted a survey of 2,800 C-suite executives across 18 countries and a variety of industries and functions. The survey was fielded in May 2024. The global sample has a margin of error of +/- 1.9%.

• Chief Executive Officer

• Chief Financial Officer

• Chief HR Officer

• Chief Marketing Officer

• Chief Sales/Customer Officer

• Chief Experience Officer

• Chief Operating/Supply Chain & Operations Officer

• Chief Production Officer/R&D lead

• Chief Strategy Officer

• Chief Innovation Officer

• Chief Technology Officer

• Chief Information Officer

• Chief Data/Analytics Officer

• Australia

• Brazil

• Canada

• China

• France

• Germany

• India

• Ireland

• Italy

• Japan

• Netherlands

• Singapore

• South Africa

• Spain

• Sweden

• Switzerland

• United Kingdom

• United States

• Aerospace and Defense

• Airline, Travel, Transport

• Automotive

• Banking (Retail)

• Capital Markets (including Investment Banking)

• Chemicals

• Communications, Media, and Entertainment

• Consumer Goods

• Energy

• Health

• High Technology

• Industrial Goods and Equipment

• Insurance

• Life Sciences

• Natural Resources

• Public Service

• Retail

• Software and Platforms

• Utilities

Q3 2024 PULSE OF CHANGE

Previous quarters

The Accenture Pulse of Change is a quarterly C-suite survey probing into how business, talent and technology trends are shaping and driving change. The latest survey was fielded in March 2024.

Learn more